Clitheroe ace Murray’s back-to-back success

Olympian Samantha Murray made it two wins from two as she claimed victory at the second Pentathlon GB National Ranking Competition of the year in Bath.

The Clitheroe ace led from start to finish, making it a hat-trick of UK victories, having also enjoyed success at the 2017 British Pentathlon Championships last June.

Murray, World champion in 2014, made the perfect start in the fencing hall, a stunning display seeing her record 23 victories and just three defeats from her 26 bouts.

Behind her, there was a return to form in the discipline for Plymouth’s Kerenza Bryson, who secured 20 victories.

Bristol’s Charlie Follett (17 victories) and Morecambe’s Georgia Hannam (16 victories), who both competed alongside Bryson at the Budapest Indoor Competition last month, rounded out the top four after the opening discipline at the University of Bath.

Murray led the way in the swim with an impressive time of 2:13.51 at such an early stage of the season.

That meant 28-year-old Murray enjoyed a healthy 47-second advantage over Bryson after the opening two disciplines, with Hannam a further 16 seconds back in third.

Behind 19-year-old Hannam, the field was much closer though with six athletes separated by just 24 seconds, leading to a thrilling battle behind the top two.

Wet and windy conditions meant that the shooting element played a significant factor in the race outcome, and although some rapid firing from Bryson saw her briefly take the lead, Murray’s experience told as she crossed the line eight seconds clear of her younger rival.

The quickest laser run of the day saw Bryson significantly cut the gap at the top and more importantly put more distance between herself and the chasing pack.

That pack was led by Saddleworth’s Olivia Green who moved from seventh to third with the second quickest laser run time.

Things were still extremely tight for the final podium position though with sixth-placed Francesca Summers just eight points behind Green after four disciplines.